The marquee event of NBA All-Star weekend is the Slam Dunk Contest, and fans at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah will hope to see some fireworks Saturday.
New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin will not be defending his title this year, but his teammate Jericho Sims will be participating in the dunk contest. Houston Rockets forward Kenyon Martin Jr., New Orleans Pelicans big man Trey Murphy III and Mac McClung from the Philadelphia 76ers’ G-League affiliate will also be participating.
The latter marks the first time a G-League player will be in the dunk contest. The four players are first-time participants.
They will get to show off their creativity to the five judges: Jamal Crawford, Lisa Leslie, Karl Malone, Harold Miner, and Dominique Wilkins.
Each dunker will get a minute and a half to get their “try” in plus one additional “try,” which is defined as “any action taken in an effort to attempt a dunk,” per the NBA. An ‘attempt” is defined as “the player controlling the basketball while airborne and moving it toward the rim.”
A referee will determine whether or a dunk has been made or missed. Made dunks cannot be replaced.
Any use of props must be approved by the league beforehand.
Each dunk will be given a score from 40 to 50 by the judges and the average of the fives judges’ score will be that dunker’s score. The two dunkers with the highest composite score will move on to the final round. In the event of a tie, the advancing dunker will be determined by “Judges’ Choice” where each judge will raise the name of the dunker they choose to advance.
The dunker with the lowest score will go first in the final round and the same rules apply. If the score is tied, there will be a one-dunk dunk-off to determine the champion. A “Judges’ Choice” will occur if the score still is tied.
The Slam Dunk Contest will start at 8:30 p.m. ET and can be watched on TV on TNT or online through TNT Drama.
